Wearing articles are known having front and rear waist regions and a crotch region wherein elastic sheets such as elastic nonwoven fabrics or plastic films are used in at least one of the front and rear waist regions. Wearing articles are also known in which a plurality of rubber yarns or threads or rubber ribbons are used instead of such elastic sheets. Such elastic materials are usually attached under tension in a waist circumferential direction to the waist region which is formed of inelastic sheets.
For example, JP 1991-162854A (PTL 1) discloses a disposable wearing article inclusive of an open-type diaper, a pants-type diaper and toilet-training pants including elastic top- and backsheets wherein an elastic barrier sheet formed of a plastic film is interposed between top- and backsheets.
In the disposable diaper disclosed in JP 1992-166150 A (PTL 2), a plurality of belt-like waist elastics are interposed between top- and backsheet in a region occupied by a bodily fluid absorbent panel. Waist elastics are attached under tension in the waist circumferential direction to the diaper so that, upon contraction of these elastics, a waist region is formed with gathers extended in the waist circumferential direction. The topsheet is formed of a nonwoven fabric made of, for example, polypropylene fibers and the backsheet is formed of a polyethylene film.
In disposable briefs disclosed in JP 1992-289201 A (PTL 3), a plurality of elastic ribbons is attached to the topsheet and/or the backsheet. Upon contraction of these elastic ribbons, the briefs are formed with a plurality of wrinkles.